1015
by Six-string Samurai
Summary: A New Years Kigo.
1. Chapter 1

Kim Possible belongs to Disney. This is a work for fun, not profit.

"10:15"

A fan-fiction by Six-string Samurai.

Part One

"I get it already. I'm coming, damn it," Shego stormed through her living room, still in the process of toweling off her hair as the door chime sang out again, three times in quick succession as if the person on the other side of the front door was trying to play a tune. Badly.

Throwing the green towel across her shoulder, she flicked a hand at the top lock, slipping the chain off the hook and unlatching the bolt beneath it. Above her head, the speaker box of the door chime got off one last ding before she could yank the door open.

Shego drew her robe tight as the chill in the street took the open door as an invitation to steal in along with a bit of snow. God, it was cold, and it wasn't even February yet. Her heating bill was going to be through the roof.

The raven tressed woman found herself glancing down a few inches below eyelevel to light on her musically inclined visitor. The hell?

Whoever it was, was currently swaddled in so much cloth that she could only venture a guess at the gender, let alone the identity of the beneath the wool had, mufflers, multi-colored scarves and puffed out coat. Just above the scarf she thought she could make out a pair of green eyes, but it was hard to tell because the lamp on her porch had burned out last week, and she'd never gotten around to replacing it. "Uh, can I help you?"

Something that might have been laughter tinkled behind the excessive clothing. "Sumprigh!" The rotund form shouted, throwing up an arm in exclamation. Or at least it that's what the pale woman deciphered out of the excited gibber, it really was hard to tell with the ridiculous amount of cloth in the way. This was new.

"Okay…that was helpful," Shego folded her arms, as the wind picked up. "What do you want? I don't do donations, just so you know," Rubbing her arms, she continued, "Whatever it is, hurry up, it's not getting any warmer out here you know."

The winter mummy pawed at the multilayered scarf around its face, struggling to get at them through Gore-Tex gloved fingers. After a moments fumbling, the cloth fell to the side, revealing a familiar round face, with a very red nose and watery green eyes. Wisps of red hair poked out from under the wool cap, whipping free in the breeze once the scarf had been removed. "Surprise," the bundled up woman in front of her declared again, much clearer the second time.

"Holy…Kimmie? What are you doing here," the taller woman asked completely floored for a moment, then another breeze got through her robe and she snapped back to reality. Shego reached out to drag the encumbered woman inside so she could close the door and keep the rest of the heat in. The woman in question squeaked as she was yanked in by her scarves, almost stumbling into Shego in the process.

There was a heavy thud, and Shego looked down to see a huge leather suitcase laying on its side in the entryway. She arched a brow and took a closer look at the shorted woman, now that they were inside. "Kim, you look," she trailed off, taking in the swollen face, misty eyes and snuffling nose.

"Terrible, I know," Kim Possible sniffed, twitching her nose in irritation. "I got ferociously sick just before Christmas. It really sucked, finally getting some vacation time and being stuck in bed for most of it."

"Visiting the folks?"

"Yeah, even if I felt miserable the whole time, it was good to see everyone," Kim pulled off her gloves with her teeth and brushed the hat off her head.

"Even the twin terrors," the pale woman asked with a knowing smirk.

"Even the tweebs. They just finished their second year at Middleton U."

Shego arched a brow. "Those two? I thought they would be a shoo in for a little more, I don't know, prestigious."

"It's not like they didn't have offers, but Middleton's grown, especially when it comes to science and technology. All those research institutes aren't there just for looks."

"Oh? And here I thought they were there just for me, all these years."

Kim rolled her eyes, doing her best to shrug out of the giant parka she was all but swimming in. "Yeah, well I won't tell them that if you don't. Gah, don't just stand there gawking, help me get out of this," the redhead shot Shego a petulant look, made all the more pathetic by the vestiges of the flu that clung to her.

"How many layers do you have on under there Pumpkin? I almost mistook you for DNAmy when I opened the door." Shego unwound the scarves and helped Kim doff the parka. Underneath, the woman was wearing a pink hoodie, and Shego could see material from at least two shirts peeking up through the collar.

"Ha ha, Mom was just concerned when I told her I was heading home by train. I think she was worried the line would get stuck, or there would be a power outage. She wanted to make sure I had enough to keep warm. Just in case," Kim sniffed, plucking at the design on the front of the hoodie. "Besides, I like this one, it's vintage."

"Kimmie, for one, it's pink," the pale woman held up a finger. "and two, a giant picture of a cuddle buddy is so not vintage."

"It's not? But look," Kim peered down at the image pasted on the material across her chest. "it's a rare one," the woman sounded a little too pleased with herself for Shego's liking.

"Do I want to know what you paid for that embarrassment?"

"Shows what you know, I got it on sale, so hah!"

"More than a hundred bucks?"

Kim blinked, and her eyes darted to the side, "Um, maybe."

"Well, that's a yes coming from you. So, how much damage are we talking, one twenty?"

"That's a good number," the redhead smiled, but still didn't meet the taller woman's eyes.

"One thirty eight?"

"Hey, what happened to one thirty five?"

Shego chuckled, moving to push the suitcase over into the corner by the door. "Pumpkin, I don't know what weird holiday land you've been visiting, but out here in the real world, prices usually end in some variation of nine ninety nine, so I figured I'd shoot closer to the mark."

Kim scowled at the green robed back, resisting the urge to wipe at her nose with her sleeve. "Fine, I give. It was one fifty, plus tax. But, the original sticker price was two fifteen. It was a good sale." Kim sniffled again, irritated that her nose was getting all stuffed up again. "Got any tissue? My nose is killing me."

Shego shot a glance over her shoulder, "Yeah, there's a box in the bathroom next to the sink. And leave your shoes by the door, I don't want you tromping all around and getting slushy crap all over my carpet. I just had it cleaned before Christmas."

"Sure, sure…I remember the rules. No shoes in the house, gottcha. No big," Kim bent over to unlace her boots, unintentionally giving her host an eyeful.

The taller woman blinked, catching herself staring. "Uh, Pumpkin?"

"Yeah," the redhead asked, quite occupied with the frozen knots on her laces.

"Do you want something to drink? I was going to have some tea, but I can put on a pot of coffee."

"No hot chocolate?"

"Ah," Shego winced at the mere mention of the stuff as it brought back nightmares of preparing Cocoamoo for a certain blue-tinted ex-villain. "No, just tea, and coffee," she found herself thinking for a moment. "Well, there might be a carton of orange juice still left in the fridge, but I can't promise that it's still good to drink. Kinda forgot to pick up more the last time I went shopping."

"Not even the kind with the little marshmallows already mixed in," Kim asked again as she succeeded in dislodging her right foot from the clutches of the snow boot.

"Pumpkin, I don't know how to break this to you, but I'm pretty sure they stopped making that kind a long time ago, something about research showing it caused cancer. Or it could have been because people kept complaining that the marshmallows melted too fast."

"So, you don't have any?"

"Coffee or Tea, Kimmie. Take your pick."

Getting the other shoe off, the redhead sighed, "I'll take the Coffee."

"You sound like your cuddle buddy just died…just go blow your nose already. I'll look for some medicine while the coffee is brewing."

"Thanks, Sheeg. The stuff mom gave me wore off halfway through the train ride." Kim padded across the living room and into the bathroom. "It's like a sauna in here," Kim poked her head back out with a tissue sticking out of one nostril, " I didn't interrupt your me time did I?

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that," the raven haired woman mock scowled at her guest. "And hello! I just got out of the shower. Why do you have to try to read your weird fantasies into every little thing?" Shego filled a kettle with water and fished around the cabinet next to the stove for her French press.

"You sure Sheeg? It's kinda musty in here," Kim prodded, waving a fist-full of Kleenex. She took a step out of the bathroom and then leaned back in with a second thought, taking the whole box of tissues with her."

"Kim! Shut it or I'm booting you back out into the cold."

"You know, for someone that used to run around in painted on leather, you can be such a stick in the mud."

Finding the French press, the pale woman ran it under the faucet and set it on the counter. "I'm hardly a stick in the mud, Princess. You make it sound like I don't get out and have fun or anything. I still hit the clubs," she said offhandedly, snaking a hand around the grinder and tossing in a cup of light roast java beans as she heard the creak of leather from the living room.

Kim plopped down on the couch, cradling the tissue box in her lap. "That doesn't mean you're not still a stick in the mud. If you're so out there, tell me what you did on Christmas? Because I'm betting you just sat," she patted the leather cushion, "right here with a hot cup of tea, and watched cheesy movies all night."

"Shows how little you know, Kimmie. I was out painting the town green. And for your information, my movies are not cheesy. You just don't have any taste in that department."

Kim chuckled, then blew her nose. "You were watching those art house French ones, weren't you?"

"No, I went out to a party."

"Oh? Where was it?"

"At the office. Some of the girls in accounting got it in their heads to throw a little holiday bash." Shego set the kettle on the stove to boil and picked out a can of loose leaf tea for herself.

"How long did you manage to keep yourself there?" Kim grinned, knowing she was close to winning.

"I- I was there long enough to say hi to everyone. I had a few glasses of wine. It was fun."

"Doesn't sound like you had fun. You just put in an appearance, and I bet you got out of there as fast as you could. Probably just came right back home too." The redhead sounded as smug as one could with a stuffed up nose and phlegm ringing in her throat. "Face it Sheeg, you've never been a people person. I know you. You go clubbing because you like to dance, and there, you're just another face in the dark. But, you don't do parties. Mingling is just not your thing, nothing to be ashamed of. It just means you're a stick in the mud." Kim's smile reached her itchy eyes.

"Okay, so I didn't spend the holidays with my family like some people, so sue me." The pale woman had a sudden thought. "Is that why you're here? To guilt trip me? Because that's pretty low, Kimmie." She cracked her knuckles. "I'm not putting up with that crap in my own house."

"Whoa, put away the claws Shego," Kim held a used tissue up in a warding gesture. "I have germs and I'm not afraid to use 'em."

"Like I'm scared of your cold. I don't get sick very easy, remember?" Shego took a step out of the kitchen in the direction of the redhead on the couch.

Kim squeaked, glancing from the balled up tissues she was wielding to the approaching threat. "It's not just cold germs, it's warm and gross, so stay away or I'll use it on you."

"Kimmie, that's pretty disgusting," Shego crept closer. "But, it's not going to stop-," a shrill whistle from the kettle on the stove interrupted her. "Damn it." The raven haired woman fixed her friend with glare. "You got lucky, that's all."

The redhead relinquished her weapon now that the threat had been successfully derailed. She glanced around the apartment, making little humming noises of approval at the décor. "Everything looks a lot cleaner than last time."

Shego looked out over the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room as she poured the water to steep both the tea and the coffee. "Are you saying I can't keep a clean house?"

"Sheeg, you're the laziest woman I know when it comes to , well, pretty much everything. This is kind of a big deal for me. It's exciting to see you caring about something other than your appearance for once," Kim smiled, then got a look in her eyes that the other woman wasn't sure she liked. "Or, is there a reason for the sudden change? A frequent visitor perhaps?"

"You're trying to turn this around on me too, aren't you," she poured Kim's coffee into a mug and hooked a finger around the ring of her tea cup, taking both into the living room. "I didn't used to figure you for a nag."

"Hey, I'm not nagging…can't a girl be concerned for her cold fish of a friend?" Kim picked up the steaming coffee and took a tentative sip. "Mmm, this is good."

The other woman sat down beside the redhead on the couch. "So you did come here just to pick at old wounds."

"I thought for sure I'd find more than one toothbrush in your bathroom this time."

Shego sputtered into her tea, "Now you're snooping around my stuff?"

"I was curious," she shrugged. "I can't help it if I'm concerned about you."

"That's funny, coming from you. Last I checked, you weren't exactly up on the whole dating scene after that thing you had going with you-know-who."

"I'm not going to burst into tears just because you say his name Sheeg. I'm totally over it now. Promise."

The look on Kim's face was neutral though, and Shego didn't press the issue, even if she thought it was well past time that the redhead moved on with her life. Of course, Kimmie had decided to turn her attention to hooking Shego up, because she somehow got it into her head that one of them had to be happy to balance out the equation. The redhead had fixed on that goal and fully expected Shego to go on every date she set her up on.

That had been two years ago, back when they'd still been roommates. Back before Shego had gotten fed up with the constant attention. Back when they'd come to blows over the whole situation.

Eventually, they'd made up, but agreed that it was better if the two of them didn't share the same living space.

This was the first time they'd been in the same room in the last six months, and Kim was already trying to dig into Shego's life. If this is what she'd come halfway across the country for, it would be a wasted trip. It was New Year's Eve, and despite their history, this wasn't how she planned on ringing in the New Year, with a fight.

"Kim, I'm plenty satisfied with living the single life right now. I've got a decent job, you know the one you helped me get. It takes up a lot of my time."

"You've been feeding me that line since forever," Kim took another sip from her mug. Setting it back on the coaster, she leaned back into the couch with a snuffle and a sigh. "If that's really what you want, you can keep it."

Shego found herself relaxing once she realized that the other woman wasn't going to be pressing the issue anymore. Not for the rest of the night anyway.

"How long are you in town for, Pumpkin."

"I've still got a few days left before I have to get back. I thought we could hang out tomorrow. It'll be like old times, but you know, better."

Shego frowned, casting a look at the woman who appeared to be melting into her couch. "Better huh, and how do you figure that, Miss Under-the-Weather?"

"I'm feeling a lot better, really. And I thought you were getting me medicine. I figured I'd just 'tussin it up and it'd be all good," Kim reached for another tissue.

Blinking, the green-skinned woman smacked her forehead with a palm. She'd gotten distracted by Kimmie. Doy. "Lemme check to see what I have around here for the flu. I can't make any promises," she pulled herself up from the couch and headed back to the kitchen.

Kim heard her rustling around, grumbling to herself. "Nope, no good…for headaches, sinus pressure…no," Shego's head poked out over the bar again, as she held up two small boxes. "What exactly are your symptoms? 'Cuz these things are all kind of similar."

"Hang on, I'll take a look," the red head sat up, bringing her coffee with her to check out the info on the boxes. "Well this one says it's the itchy eyes, stuffy nose kind," she poked the box in Shego's left hand. "But, it's nighttime so 'you-can-sleep' medicine. She quoted the jingle she remembered from the commercial. Kim leaned over the counter, so she could get a look a the clock over the oven. "It's only eight thirty. If I take this, I'll be out way before midnight," she turned to look at the other box. "Hey, this one's non-drowsy!"

Kim skimmed over the directions, nodding to herself. "Says it's good for four hours. Blah, blah, blah…two teaspoons. Does it come with one of those little measuring cups?"

"What, a spoon isn't good enough for you, Princess."

"Only if it's silver."

"I don't even know how you can afford to live on your own with that kind of taste."

The shorter woman shrugged, letting go of the box so Shego could open it. "Is that an offer?"

"Oh no, Pumpkin, we tried that, and I'm not falling for your little 'boo-hoo, poor me' eyes this time. So don't even think it. Besides, didn't you say you were just here to visit?" Shego dug out the bottle from the box and handed it to the other woman. It was missing the tiny cup.

Kim made a face, but Shego didn't say anything else and pulled a spoon out of the utensil drawer. "Here, use this. Don't even think of drinking it straight from the bottle."

The redhead stuck out her lower lip. "I'm sick, not stupid Sheeg. Jeez, lighten up." She twisted off the cap and took the proffered spoon. "Spoilsport."

"See! I knew it, you're mad the cup isn't there, so you were going to just chug it, weren't you?"

"So not the case. Why would I want to get my cold germs all over the thing that's supposed to make me feel better? I'm not five years old, believe it or not."

"Have you been smoking something while I wasn't looking, Kimmie? You just threatened me with a ball of snot, ten minutes ago. You're probably still thinking you can get me sick, just to prove a point."

"Hah, as if. Who's the one that said she had super-immunity? Sure wasn't me. What are you even worried about then, Miss, I'm too cool to catch a cold?" Kim shook the bottle in her hands. "Tell me why you have this stuff laying around in the first place then?"

The pale woman put a hand on her hip. "It's not mine, Doy. You didn't exactly take all your stuff with you when you left," Shego narrowed her eyes. "Who do you think half the crap belonged to that you say was trashing up the place? It was yours! I'm not the shopaholic around here, Kimmie."

"Wait, wait, wait…back up a second. This is old medicine? I can't believe you let me drink old medicine," Kim threw up her hands. "This has got to be from more than a year ago! Give me the box, maybe there's an expiration date." Kim fumbled for the box, red eyes widening in alarm. "I thought we were past this, but you're still mad at me aren't you…You're trying to poison me!" She turned the box every which way in her hands, trying to locate anything that might tell her when the medicine went bad.

"Calm down, and stop freaking out. I'm not trying to kill you, just give me the damn box, you aren't even looking in the right place," the raven haired woman reached across the counter and snatched the offending item from Kim's frantic hands.

"Hey, give that back! Stop hiding it." the sick woman bemoaned, even as she crawled up onto the bar stool in front of her and put a knee on the countertop in an attempt to crawl over into the kitchen.

"Kim, what the hell do you think you're doing, get down from there before," Shego winced as her warning came too late and the redhead's forehead collided with the wine rack hanging over the bar.

"Ow, shit! Is it bleeding? I think I'm bleeding Sheeg," Kimberly slid back the way she'd gotten up and plopped herself down on the stool, holding a hand to her aching brow. "Great, my headaches worse now. See what happens when you try to kill me with your fake kindness…," the woman moaned, pinching her eyes shut. Topping things off, her nose started running in overdrive, setting off another round of snuffles. "This isn't the kind of fun I was imagining us having on the ride over here."

"Just keep your ass glued to that stool, and I'll get you an ice pack for the swelling," Shego said, running over to the freezer. "I swear, you do this crap every time I see you."

"It's not like I do it on purpose, I'm sick and I feel terrible, what do you expect?"

"Yeah, well that explains the last few months we were living together. You had a three month long head cold." She came around the corner holding a plastic baggie filled with ice. "Here, hold this for a second, so I can check you out."

The injured girl made something that sounded suspiciously like a snort, "It's been a long time since anyone tried that line on me."

"Shut it you, I'm being serious here, now get your hand out of the way."

"I'm being serious too." Kim lowered her hand so the other woman could get at her wound. "How bad is it?"

"Well, the good news is, there's no blood."

"Why do I hear a but coming?" Kim winced as warm fingers prodded her forehead.

"Hope you don't mind wearing that hat for a few days," came the reply.

"There's going to be one nasty bruise in the morning. You've got a purpling mark in the shape of a curly-cue right smack dab in the middle of your forehead. What the heck did you run into?"

Both women turned their gazes up at the wine rack, and sure enough the metal cap that held the bottles in place was the spitting image of the mark on Kim's head.

Kim heard a spurting sound and shot a glare at her friend. "It's not funny. This really hurts." She reached up to rub gingerly at the forming bruise. "Ow, see, I think there's a knot too."

Shego couldn't hold it in any longer and leaned back against the counter with her elbows barely propping her up as laughter spilled unchecked from her lips. "Kimmie, oh, you should see it. You branded yourself on my wine rack," the words were choked out, and the woman's eyes started to tear up when she got another look at the now very visible curl on Kim's forehead. "It's just too cute!"

"Laugh it up glow-worm, I could be dying for all we know, and you're sitting there mocking me!"

"Hah, heh, oh Kimmie, just like old times," the slightly older woman wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her robe, brushing away the tears that threatened to spill out. Taking a few deep breaths, she managed to get her fit under control. "I kind of miss it, you know?"

"Clearly I don't."

"Come on, you have to admit that it's kind of funny. I tried to tell you not to climb up onto the bar, but someone likes to fight the odds every chance she gets. Frankly, I'm surprised you don't injure yourself more often with your weird impulses."

"Shego…we finished this conversation years ago. I just wanted to have a fun New Years with you, like we used to. Not dig up old ghosts." Kim winced in pain.

"That's rich, I'm not the one accusing friends of attempted murder," the raven haired woman shot back.

"I didn't really mean it like it sounded, promise."

"Hmm, you say that now, after you clocked yourself acting stupid."

The redhead lowered her face. "I'm sorry," she looked back up after a moment of contrition. "Can we go back to sitting on the couch, I think I'm starting to feel a little dizzy." Kim made to stand up and move to the loveseat, but wobbled after only a few steps.

"Woah there, maybe I better take another look at you, just in case." An arm snagged her waist, and the redhead found herself being guided back to her seat. "Stay seated this time, and I'll bring you your drink."

Doing as she was told, Kim rested, thinking how typical this was of them, always bickering over stupid things one moment and then all smiles and laughs the next. It was a bizarre study in contrasts and one she never really grew tired of exploring, even though it had eventually worn thin enough that they'd decided it better to take a little time apart. Time that stretched from a few weeks, to months, and now here it was, almost a year later since they'd last really sat down and talked. Even still, here the two of them were, slipping back into old habits, saying things they didn't really mean, just to get a rise out of the each other.

It was a love hate thing, and for a long time, it mostly consisted of the latter. The redhead shuffled a sigh, wracking her flu addled brain on how she was going to win her friend over. She'd done it before as a teen, so what made it so hard to just get along with the woman now that they were both adults? It was a question she'd been asking herself ever since they'd stopped being roommates. Kim was even able to admit now that the gulf between them was mostly of her own making. But that didn't mean it was any easier to fix it. The redhead idly played with the icepack in her hands for a moment, before remembering that she was supposed to be holding it to the bump on her head.

Shego came back, handing Kim a refilled mug of coffee. "Here, drink some of this and scoot over so I can get at you easier. I don't think you hit it hard enough to give yourself a concussion, but I'm not taking any chances. Lemme get a look at your eyes."

Kim couldn't help but notice that the taller woman's robe had fallen partially open as Shego all but crawled over her to get close enough to properly inspect Kim's eyes for equal pupil dilation.

"Kim, stop looking all over the place, I can't see your pupils," Shego grabbed the sides of Kim's head with her hands to made sure she didn't move, giving the woman an unobstructed view down her cleavage. "You're like a little kid sometimes, I swear. Look straight ahead."

Kim wondered if Shego realized she was giving her a free show. A tiny voice in the back of her head told her to let her friend know her of her wardrobe malfunction. The actual view on the other hand insured that Kim's lips remained sealed, and slightly dry.

"Now, look up a little for me." The command broke whatever mysterious hold that the shadows beneath Shego's robe held on her. Well, not entirely mysterious, she informed herself. It was another in the long list of things that had brought the two of them together, not just as friends, but to live in the same apartment. It also contributed to their imposed separation, though neither woman had ever really made mention of it, or ever brought the subject up in conversation.

It was a mutually unspoken thing, first fueled by their battles on opposing sides, and ramped up over the years as they fought, bantered and baited each other time and again. It was something more than friendship, but too fragile to ever be more than a pleasant daydream. Or so Kim continued to tell herself, up until the last fight that had forced her to move out just over a year ago.

But, they hadn't drifted completely apart. They'd still talked, and hung out every few weeks, and six months ago, she'd been sure that they'd gotten over the worst of it. Shego hadn't been though. So, Kim had waited, giving the older woman more space, and more time to get over her anger.

The rest of the time flew by, Thanksgiving came and went, and Kim continued to save up her vacation days, working out a plan in her head to try and get back into the ex-thief's good graces. Unfortunately, catching the flu at the last minute had not, in fact, been a part of that plan. But, it just might do the trick, the redhead thought, as Shego released her grip.

Kim glanced at the clock on the mantle near the television on the wall. God, had she already been here nearly an hour? It didn't feel like it. But, there was still plenty of time before midnight. Even if her cold was doing a wicked fierce job of slowing her wits down she could still work this out. The night didn't have to be a complete wash. In her muddled head, Kim was already smiling a devious smirk.

--

A/N: A Gift to ring in 2009 from me to all you Kigo fans out there. This should be a two parter when all is said and done. That being the case, I made sure to write this a little longer than my norm, to better set the scene. I'd really appreciate some reviews on this one, just to let me know if you all like the character portrayals I have illustrated here.

Frankly, I'm quite pleased as to how this part turned out, much more that with two of my other works, namely "Make me Believe," and "The Trace Without," the latter of which I took from and refined some of the concepts for use in the creation of this piece. Should this pass muster with a good amount of my readers, I'll certainly be open to working on other tales using this backdrop.

Thanks to everyone that has written to me thus far in support of my first forays into the Kim Possible fandom, and I look forward to reading and writing more fiction with these great characters in the coming year.

Love and Peace,

Six-string Samurai


	2. Chapter 2 part 1 of ?

Kim Possible belongs to Disney. This is a work for fun, not profit.

"10:15"

A fan-fiction by Six-string Samurai.

Part Two point 5

"So," Kim put down her mug. "No office party?"

"Huh," the pale woman scrunched her brow in confusion for a moment, "Oh, for tonight. Ah, I got the weekend off. There's probably something going on, but I just saw everyone at the Christmas one. I don't know why we didn't have one big get together," she shook her head, "Whatever."

The redhead didn't say anything, only making a small noise in the back of her throat that might have passed for an agreement. She settled back onto the cushions, flopping her arms out. "It's boiling in here," Kim tugged at the neck of her hoodie.

"It's maybe 75, and you're wearing like five layers, anyone would be hot," Shego made a face, "Take that damn pink thing off, and you'll be fine."

"Ugh, fine," the younger woman sat up and began trying to shrug out of the sweater. She got one arm out, and it was going fine until it got stuck when she went to pull it over her head. "A little help here," Kim mumbled once she realized her hair was getting caught on one of the shirts she was wearing underneath. A pleading cry of "Sheeg," came out from beneath the frustrated bundle in an effort to solicit the other woman.

"Oh, come on. You're like a little kid sometimes, Kimmie," the pale woman rolled her eyes, reaching over regardless to fix the problem. "Were you always this bad," Shego asked, ridding them both of the pink monstrosity by tossing it off to the side of the couch, where Kim couldn't forget it and accidentally leave it laying around to torment her. There was more than enough of the younger woman's belongings still in the apartment, that even a year later it sometimes felt like the redhead was still paying her half of the rent.

Kim shrugged out of the extra t-shirt she'd been wearing as well, leaving herself in a pink long-sleeve. "Thanks," she said, messing ineffectually with the stubborn effects of hat hair. "Is that mark still there?"

"If you mean the one that makes you look like Quail-girl…then yes," Shego grinned, and Kim slumped a bit. "You got a nice little bruise. You did bean yourself pretty hard there, Pumpkin."

"Like this stubborn cold isn't enough, now I've got a lame curly-cue in the middle of my forehead."

"I'm pretty sure it'll be gone by tomorrow, if not sooner. Probably," the pale woman nodded to herself, "Could be worse."

"How? It's already pretty embarrassing…"

"And if it happened on the way to see your parents," Shego prompted, smirk returning.

Kim groaned, "Oh, definitely worse."

"Thought so," she sat back, picking up her tea. "Think there's anything good on the tube? Other than those pre-countdown shows? Or we could throw in a movie," the older woman suggested, even though she knew the likely answer.

"Do you have anything new," Kim hedged, "Subtitles are pretty much not on my list right now."

"They turn off, you know."

The redhead gave her friend a hard stare, made a lot less intimidating by her stuffy nose and bleary eyes. "Some of us still aren't fluent in all the romance languages. Besides, I'm pretty sure you just memorized all the lines. What is it with you and Audrey Tautou?"

"Who was it that rented _Amelie _in the first place. If someone hadn't gotten me hooked, then you wouldn't have anything to complain about," Shego folded an arm across her waist, "Besides, everyone thinks she's cute."

"Wait, what? You can't pin that on me, it was only the one time! I did nothing to feed your addiction."

"Oh? What about the time you bought the _Beverly Hills Cop _movies? I sat through that with you."

"It's not the same thing, those are in English, and you were laughing more than I was," Kim grabbed up the box of tissues she'd taken from the bathroom. "Those are part of a set. You ordered every movie she's been in, the next day."

"Ooh, is that a hint of jealously I hear," the grin plastered on Shego's face more than made up for the sing-song tone her voice had taken.

Kim jutted out her lower lip, folding her arms across her chest, "Hmph, I wasn't the one making goo-goo eyes at the TV screen for hours on end. And you never answered my question."

"Which one?" Shego's only answer was a pair of rolled eyes, courtesy of one cold-stricken Kimmie.

"The one where I asked if you got any new movies…but never mind, let's just see what's on. I just remembered I heard that Knievel guy's son doing a crazy stunt tonight in Vegas, it's a live show, too," even through her stuffy nose the excitement in her voice was clear. "Come on, we've gotta watch that!"

"Okay, okay…someone needs to take a chill pill," Shego dug around for the remote, and clicked on the set. "Lemme see if we can find it on the guide channel."

"Great," the redhead picked up the still steaming coffee and took a cautious sip. "Mmm, this really hit's the spot," she took the opportunity while the older woman was busy scanning the channels, to scoot closer on the couch, leaving little, if any space between them. The classic approach worked best after all. It had to, it wasn't called a classic for nothing, right?

* * *

A/N: Dear readers, I profusely apologize for the horrendous delay between updates. But, I'm officially back in the writing game. In an effort toward keeping such a huge lapse of time from appearing between updates, I'll be reducing the chapter length to something approaching this current size of around 1,000 words. It's less work, but hopefully not lessened quality. Happy 2011! Better late than never.


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